Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Training Camp Thoughts - 7/27/10

With so much information flowing out of training camp I am going to try to keep up with the developments with a quick reaction to the hot topics every few days from now until training camp is over. Even though camp only started a few days ago it seems like the media is in mid-season form already.

- I'll start with the "hot" topic. Dez Bryant should have just carried Roy Williams' pads and this wouldn't be a story. I don't think it automatically makes him a diva receiver just because he refused to take part in a typical training camp tradition. I would bet that the problem has already been dealt with behind closed doors by the veterans and we'll never hear about it. I was expecting to see Dez taped to a goal post and left there after practice but I guess that isn't going to happen. Either way Roy says it is a non-issue and Dez says the same thing. It is over. Let's move on. But I will file that move by Dez in the memory banks and hope that it was an isolated incident.

- I really want John Phillips to push Martellus Bennett down on the depth chart. I can't stand the fact that Marty B. has to be told where to line up repeatedly in every game he plays. Add the fact that Tony Romo doesn't trust Martellus to run the right route or run it correctly and you can see that Phillips has a real shot. With Martellus out with an ankle sprain John Phillips has been showing that he has made great strides this offseason. Phillips was already starting to take some snaps from Martellus at the end of last season and now he might be on the verge of taking his job. Like I said, I'm pulling for Phillips in this training camp battle. And I didn't even mention the continuing off-the-field news that Marty B. keeps creating.

- The Bengals have recreated the locker room mess that Dallas dealt with in 2008. The have managed to add Tank Johnson, Pacman Jones, Roy Williams, and now Terrell Owens over the last year. Throw Chad Ochocinco into that mix and I smell disaster. Those guys are all ok as long as the team is winning. Carson Palmer better pray they win a lot of games or his team is going down in flames.

- I'm wondering what is going to happen with Patrick Crayton. It seems pretty clear that he has dropped down to the #4 slot and I wonder how long he is going to keep quiet about it. I seriously doubt that he will unseat Roy Williams or Dez Bryant to get back on the field with the first team whether he outplays them or not. I'm not saying what it happening to Crayton is fair, but it is the reality of the NFL. I hope he can be a team player because it would be nice to be able to keep him for depth.

- Doug Free, Alan Ball, and David Buehler have all done a decent job so far. We won't really know about any of them until the preseason games start. And even then we might have to wait until the regular season to find out if these three are ready to step up this year. Only time is going to tell what we have at left tackle, safety and kicker.